In a comprehensive report issued last week, the American Bankruptcy Institute Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy proposed recommendations that would allow student loans to be easier to discharge in bankruptcy, citing the staggering $1.5 trillion in student loan debt held in the United States and the current difficulties with discharging this type of debt in bankruptcy.

Last week, a Ninth Circuit panel held that plaintiffs in five related cases lacked standing to pursue their FCRA claims. Specifically, the Ninth Circuit held that the allegation that a credit report contained misleading information, absent any indication that a consumer tried to engage in or was imminently planning to engage in any transactions for which the alleged misstatements in the credit reports made or would make any material difference, does not constitute a concrete injury.

It is well established that the type of recognition granted by the recognising court under the UNCITRAL Model Law will depend on whether the originating proceedings are ‘foreign main’ or ‘foreign non-main’ proceedings, which in turn hinges on the centre of main interests (COMI) of the insolvent entity.

On March 11, 2019, a U.S. district court judge in California denied FERC’s motion to withdraw the reference of Pacific Gas and Electric’s (“PG&E”) adversary proceeding from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the ongoing jurisdictional dispute between FERC and the bankruptcy court. In his ruling, Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. of the U.S.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court has denied a creditor’s motion for sanctions against a law firm in the Middle District of Florida which the creditor alleged engaged in serial filings.

In a decision with sweeping consequences for equipment lessors, the bankruptcy court (SDNY) in Republic Airways held that a liquidated damages provision in a true lease is an unenforceable penalty if it provides for the unconditional transfer of residual value risk or market risk only upon default, without a cognizable connection to any anticipated harm caused by the default itself. Importantly for lessors and lenders alike, the bankruptcy court held that the unconditional guaranties of such obligations in favor of the lessor violated public policy and were unenforceable.

A federal bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Florida has ruled that the owner of a computer-financing scheme cannot hide behind a bankruptcy filing to shield himself from complying with a contempt order that required him to pay $13.4 million for violating an FTC order.

This past Friday, February 8, 2019, a panel of the Fourth Circuit unanimously held that the Bankruptcy Code does not bar a creditor from asserting an unsecured claim for attorneys’ fees incurred after the filing of a bankruptcy petition if those fees are guaranteed by a pre-petition contract. In Summitbridge Nat’l Invs. III, LLC v. Faison, No. 17-2441, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 3967 (4th Cir. Feb.

Below are summaries of the noteworthy decisions, laws and requirements impacting the commercial lending industry which occurred or took effect in 2018. Please feel free to contact us for additional information or details on any of the items listed below and/or to discuss whether updates to your loan documents may be needed to address the same.

1. New, Improved Rules for High Volatility Real Estate Loans

Virtually all bankruptcy courts faced with the question of whether growers or dispensers of cannabis and cannabis products can take advantage of the protections afforded by the federal bankruptcy laws have said, no, they cannot.